


The Clan

by the_razor_crest_lives



Series: The Stowaway Series [2]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: (although it may not be directly addressed), Asexual Din Djarin, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, No Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-23 08:14:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30052527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_razor_crest_lives/pseuds/the_razor_crest_lives
Summary: After Din Djarin and Y/N's thrilling adventure through the galaxy with the intention of finding Moff Gideon and making him pay for what he did to the Child, they finally find him. However, their journey hardly ends there. In fact, it's only just beginning.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Reader, Din Djarin/You
Series: The Stowaway Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2139642
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. The Marshal

**Author's Note:**

> Hello lovelies, and welcome back to the adventure of Din Djarin and Y/N! If you're new here, this is a sort of "Season Two" to my previous fic in this series, "The Stowaway." Please go read that first if you haven't already before reading this one, as some things may not make sense otherwise! Thank you for being here and supporting my work. It makes me so happy that I get to write these fics and have people read them and support me! 
> 
> As I recommended at the beginning of "The Stowaway," the chrome extension "Interactive Fics" will replace "Y/N" with your name of choice! It has certainly made my own personal AO3 experience much better :)
> 
> Happy reading, and May the Force Be With You!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s a budding Mandalorian/Jedi relationship without some good old violence?  
> !! TW: brief mention of blood, nothing graphic !!

You awoke to the smell of something delicious, and when you opened your eyes, Din Djarin, once one of the most feared bounty hunters in the galaxy, was sitting at the foot of the sleeping quarters you were lying in with a bowl of soup in each hand.

“Want some soup?” he asked, and you sat up. You smiled at him and took one of the bowls. Scooting further into the sleeping quarters, you pushed the small hammock hanging on the ceiling out of the way. You could sit cross-legged quite comfortably in the cramped space, but Din, when he sat in there next to you, had his knees up to his chest. You almost laughed at how ridiculous he looked, but you managed to keep it to yourself.

You looked away as his helmet lifted and he drank his soup. You leaned on his arm while you slowly drank yours, still waking up. It had been three days since you’d left in pursuit of Bo-Katan and Moff Gideon, and Din had confessed his feelings for you. You still hadn’t seen him without the helmet, and although you were eager to see his face, you also respected his creed, and The Way. It would be up to him when, or if, he showed you his face.

You finished the last of your breakfast and said, “Thanks. That was just what I needed.”

Din didn’t say anything, but he leaned into you. You still hadn’t heard his helmet hiss back on, so you resisted the urge to look up at his face. You were happy with this level of trust for now.

And to your surprise and delight, Din pressed a kiss into your hair before he put the helmet on and eased out of the sleeping space. He held out his hand to you, and you, face bright, took it, taking the warm blankets of yourself and throwing them haphazardly on the bed.

It was cold, as usual, on the Razor Crest, and Din grabbed your shawl from a box before you had the chance. He gently slipped it over your head and said, “Stay warm. I don’t want you getting sick.”

You smiled and shook your head, then the both of you headed up to the cockpit. You settled into the co-pilot’s chair as Din checked and double-checked your projected course. Without a droid helping out, everything had to be done manually in the Razor Crest. 

You would have been content to sit and watch him for hours (you’d done it before), but just then, an alert for a holo transmission beeped on the dash. You sat up straighter as Din pressed a button to receive the holo.

It was Cara Dune, your friend from the lava planet of Navarro. “Razor Crest, come in,” her voice said, the small holograph staring into your ship blankly, waiting for Din to respond.

Din pressed a button and said, “We’re here.”

Cara’s holo, now able to see into the ship, looked at him and said, “Bo-Katan contacted me and said she’s waiting for you at the coordinates I’m sending to you right now. She wanted me to make sure you got the location.”

Din pressed a few buttons on the board, then said, “Coordinates received. Tell Bo-Katan we’re a few parsecs out.”

Cara nodded and said, “Will do.” She looked at you and said with a smile, “It’s nice to see you, Y/N.” Then her holo blinked out of existence.

As Din made a few more adjustments to the system, you hopped down to the hold, grabbed your old rucksack, and came back to sit in the co-pilot’s seat. From it you drew your lightsaber, which was dirty and banged up from the years of misuse and disuse. You hadn’t ignited it for more than two years, and you weren’t about to now, especially in the small confines of the cockpit.

But you were starting to accept your past more, and think that perhaps there was a third way in the Force beside the strict teachings of the Jedi and the harmful ways of the Sith.

You closed your eyes and for the first time since you left the Order for good, you intentionally sought out the Force.

After a long, tense moment, you began to feel it flow within you. It had never really gone away, but you had intentionally cut off your ties to it for so long that this feeling flowing through you reminded you of the very first time you felt the Force like this.

The more powerful the Force became, the stronger your urge to ignite your lightsaber grew.

“How much longer?” you asked Din, opening your eyes.

If he had any comments about your lightsaber being out, he didn’t voice them. He only said, “We’re here.”

Din pulled Razor Crest out of hyperspace. The Moff’s shuttle loomed before you, and as Din carefully pulled into the small docking station, a female voice crackled on the comms, saying, “We’re in the bridge.”

The comms shut off and the Razor Crest settled. You looked over at Din and he said, “That was Bo-Katan.”

You nodded and the two of you went down into the hold to gear up.

Din strapped on his Beskar spear, a blaster or two, and double checked his armor to make sure it was secure. He also took a long look at the Darksaber, which was lying innocently in the weapons store, as it had been since you had been on the ship, and with a barely audible sigh, grabbed it as well.

As for you, you just clipped on your blaster, making sure it was secure. You set your lightsaber in your rucksack, then as the hatch hissed opened, you took a moment to tune into the Force.

And the Force told you to go back and get the lightsaber.

So you ran back and grabbed it.

Din tilted his head but didn’t pry. You appreciated it. You weren’t sure why the Force was telling you to get it, so it would have been hard to explain had Din asked.

The two of you walked out of the Razor Crest into the Imperial shuttle where your story, or at least this part of it, had begun.

…

Walking through the halls felt strange. After scuttling through the vents for all that time, you had gotten used to seeing things from above.

You slowed your pace, bringing Din to a halt when he realized you were stopping.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Just give me a moment,” you said, and closed your eyes, drawing your lightsaber.

You held it out by your side, angled down, and let the Force flow through you. The words of your old teachers ran through your mind, and as the feelings within you swelled, you dared to press the button on the side of your saber.

And it ignited.

You looked down at it. The purple blade was as bright as you remembered it being, despite the wear and tear on the hilt. It glowed with energy, and you could feel the peculiarly cool heat of it radiating on your hand. You raised the lightsaber in front of you, and a hesitant smile took over your face.

Din stared, and as the gentle humming of the lightsaber filled the hallway, he said, “You really were a Jedi.”

“Did you ever doubt me?” you said, half joking.

He shook his head.

You spun the blade carefully in your hand a few times, the Force filling you with excitement. You had missed the familiar weight of the saber in your hand, the power that ran through you when you held it.

Then, you took a deep breath and shut it off.

The silence was deafening.

“I’m not going back to the Jedi Order,” you said. “But the Force is strong with me today. I don’t know why.”

“The Force?” Din asked.

You were a little shocked that Din didn’t know what it was, then remembered that, despite what the Council might think, the galaxy didn’t revolve around Jedi and their ways.

“Well,” you said, “the way my old master explained it to me was this: The Force gives a Jedi their power. It’s an energy field, and it’s created by all living things. It’s around us all, and moves through us. It’s what binds the galaxy together.”

Din was still confused, so you said, “If you really want to know, I’d say we should sit down, since it could be a long conversation.” You gestured down the hallway. “Or,” you said, “I can explain after we do what we came here to do.”

Din turned to look down the hallway, although there was nothing to see, and then turned back to you and said, “Let’s go.”

You grabbed his hand and squeezed it once before letting go.

You were both ready to make Moff Gideon pay for what he’d done to The Child all those months ago.

…

You and Din stood side by side as the bridge doors opened with a hiss. You had your lightsaber clipped to the opposite side of your belt as your blaster, but purposely positioned your long shawl over it. No point in letting everyone know you had one. After all, you weren’t technically a Jedi anymore. You had left the Order long ago.

Bo-Katan and her Mandalorian companion, both helmetless, were in the bridge, standing at the control panels. Bo-Katan turned when the doors hissed open at your arrival, and said, “Welcome back.”

Din nodded, and you clenched your jaw as she looked at you with a critical eye.

“Who are you?” she asked.

You replied, “Y/N.”

“She’s with me. She and I have a similar score to settle with Moff Gideon,” added Din. The cool in his voice was masking a deep anger, you could tell, and if you weren’t mistaken, some nervousness.

Then you realized that last time he was here, Din had taken off his helmet, and presumably, both of these women had seen his face. You yourself were in vents at the time, and had looked away as soon as he had begun to take his helmet off. You didn’t think these two offered him the same courtesy.

But Bo-Katan didn’t mention anything about it, and just said, “Fennec took him to the hold. You’ll find him there. Do as you will—just don’t kill him.”

You and Din looked at each other. Din had briefly mentioned to you that Fennec Shand, whom he had previously hunted as a bounty, was now working with Boba Fett on his ship. Din had assumed the two of them had left Bo-Katan and her friend and gone to do whatever they pleased elsewhere in the galaxy.

Din asked, “Shand is still here?”

Bo-Katan fiddled with a few buttons on the control board and replied, “Fett’s been scouting ahead for us, since we’ve had to travel sublight to avoid any attention from Imperial forces. Fennec opted to stay here and make sure Moff Gideon didn’t try to kill anyone again.”

You vividly remembered the Moff trying to kill The Child. Hot anger flowed through you, and the words of your old master echoed in your mind. “Anger is a path to the dark side of the Force. Do not give into your anger, Y/N. It leads to nothing but sorrow.”

Din nodded and brushed up against you when he turned, leaving the bridge. You inclined your head to Bo-Katan, who returned the gesture, and as you followed Din through the shuttle, you also thought about your master’s teachings on love. They’d been wrong about that, after all.

Maybe a little bit of righteous anger was fine.

You smiled, and you and Din walked side by side. When you reached the hold, Fennec Shand was waiting outside an open holding cell. She looked at you curiously, but didn’t say anything when you followed Din into the cell.

Moff Gideon sat upright in the back of the hold, and his eyes widened when he saw Din. He was obviously scared. His thoughts, although not clear to you, were panicked. The Force was strong with you, although you still weren’t sure why. This was the first time you had sought it out in years. Maybe it had been waiting for you all this time.

“Bo-Katan warned me you were coming,” Shand said, although she didn’t come into the cell. “I made sure this scum was awake. Have fun.”

She shut the door behind her and you and Din looked at each other, then at the Moff, who swallowed nervously.

He put on a calm face, however, like any true politician, Imperial or not. “Well then,” he said, and you gritted your teeth. You had certainly not missed his slippery voice, the way he sounded condescending even when bound in stun cuffs.

“Here to finish the job, Mando?” asked the Moff, and you stood to the side, hand on your blaster, as Din paced the cell. You had never seen him pace before. His body was tense, although he held his blaster loosely. He stopped and said, “What did you do to the kid?”

You were glad you were here to see his anger at the Moff. Anger was something you had rarely seen your Mandalorian express, and this degree of it was something else entirely.  
(It was attractive, but you were trying not to focus on that right now.)

You pushed those thoughts aside, although you allowed yourself a smile. Now that you knew Din returned your feelings, you didn’t feel badly about thinking about him in that way anymore.

Moff Gideon looked over at you, and you returned to having a straight face, cocking your head and raising an eyebrow.

“And who are you?” the Moff asked. “Another companion, destined to be abandoned?”

You laughed, and said, “I’ve already tried abandoning him. Didn’t agree with me.”

The Moff looked mildly surprised, whether by the spite in your tone or at what you’d said, you didn’t know. Neither he nor Din knew, but you weren’t just talking about you leaving Din earlier in the week. No, a much deeper scar ran through your heart, the topic of abandonment opening the wound. You had run from people before—Din was the only one you had come back to.

The Moff observed you critically. “Well, do you have a score to settle with me as well?” he asked, and then Din’s blaster was aimed between his eyes.

“Leave her out of this.” Din’s hand was steady, and although you rolled your eyes, Din’s protective tone made your face warm.

The Moff stared at Din and said, “Ah, another sore spot for you, Mando? I thought losing The Child would have been enough to keep you away from making any more friends.”

Both you and Din made a noise of anger from deep in your throats, and the Moff’s calm mask slipped a little.

Your anger was rising, and you switched from having your hand on your blaster to tucking your hand under your shawl to rest on your lightsaber hilt.

The Moff kept up his goading, looking at Din. “Especially losing him to a Jedi, your ancestral enemy. That really can’t have been easy.” Your blood had started to boil at the mention of the Jedi. It had been bad enough seeing Luke Skywalker on this ship last time you were here; the reminder was more than enough to set you off. But you stayed quiet.

The Moff clicked his tongue and said, “And taking off your helmet in front of dear Bo-Katan.”

Din flinched just enough for the Moff to laugh and say, “Yes, they told me about that. Well, I heard them talking outside the cell about it. Quite a scandal for a member of the Watch to take off his helmet, no?” You remembered that at the time that Din took off his helmet, the Moff had been knocked out, having been relieved of his consciousness privileges after trying to kill himself.

Din clicked the safety on his blaster off, and pressed the barrel to the Moff’s forehead.

You stepped forward and despite your own anger, put your hand on Din’s arm.

“Bo-Katan wants him alive,” you said quietly. Din slowly lowered his blaster, clicking the safety back into place.

The Moff laughed to himself, delighted to have hit another sore point with Din. “Taking off your helmet, giving up The Child to a Jedi—”

Kriff, enough about The Child and enough about the Jedi. Your anger bubbled over and you turned to face him, throwing off your shawl.

The Moff’s calm facade completely fell away when he saw the lightsaber strapped to your belt. The fear in his eyes was so satisfying that you almost could have walked away just then.

Almost being the key word.

“A Jedi,” he said, surprise and terror in his voice.

You snarled, “I am no Jedi.”

He stared at you and you raised your fist. Just as he was registering what you were doing, you punched him squarely in the nose.

His head snapped backwards with the impact, and his nose cracked under your fist. When you pulled back, your knuckles started to throb. You sucked a breath in through your teeth and shook the pain away. The blood streaming from the Moff’s nose and the shocked look on his face was enough to let you forget the pain.

You gave Din a vindictive smile and paused next to him, faced away from the Moff.

“That felt good,” you said in a low voice, then, “Just don’t kill him, okay?”

“I’ll meet you in the bridge,” he said, voice deep with anger at the Moff.

You smiled as you walked out of the cell, scooping up your shawl from the floor. The door opened, then closed behind you. Fennec Shand gave you a side glance as you walked by, curious, and you said, “I’ve had my fill. He’s got much more of a score to settle than I do, anyway.”

Fennec’s mouth twitched upward and she nodded.

You walked to the bridge with your bleeding hand in your pocket, content with the one punch. You couldn’t wait to talk with Din about it. You suspected that he found it just as satisfying as you did.

…

30 minutes later, the rather dented doors of the bridge opened and in walked Din. Bo-Katan and her friend, who’s name you had learned was Koska Reeves, glanced at him, then turned back to their control board.

Din walked up to you and reached out for your hands. You let him take them in his, and although your bleeding knuckles had scabbed over, the blood on his gloves was fresh.

“Yours?” you asked, staring at it, although you didn’t see any wounds.

Din shook his head and then suddenly, he wrapped his arms around you.

His Beskar armor was cold, as always, but you still loved the show of affection.

He pulled away and you asked, “What was that for?”

Din tilted his head, and you assumed he was just staring at you.

“I realized how much you mean to me when Moff Gideon was talking,” he said, and your cheeks colored.

He took your hand in his and the two of you approached Bo-Katan. She looked down at your joined hands, then back up at Din, and didn’t say anything about it.

“Bo-Katan,” Din said. “I’d like to give this to you.”

He unhooked the Darksaber from his belt and held it out to her.

She gave him the same look as she had those months ago when he first tried to yield it to her.

“I can’t take it,” she said. 

Although Din’s feelings for you were affectionate at the moment, you could still feel the residual anger from his, um, meeting with the Moff rolling off of him in waves.

“Then win it from me,” he said, and released your hand. He gestured for you to back away, and you moved to stand near Koska Reeves. She looked at you with such contempt that you moved a few steps away and watched Bo-Katan and Din in the middle of the room.

Bo-Katan stepped forward, helmet in hands.

“Win it from you?” she asked, and Din nodded.

Without another word, Bo-Katan fitted her helmet over her head and Din ignited the Darksaber.

It was beautiful, although there was hardly time to admire it, as Bo-Katan attacked Din in a matter of seconds. You saw the first few kicks, then they were moving too fast for you to see. The Darksaber flashed, Bo-Katan ducked out of the way, she and Din circled each other in a violent dance.

You leaned forward. You were sure Din wasn’t trying to hurt her—although they were moving fast, it still wasn’t as quick as you’d seen Din fight before. And he didn’t want the Darksaber. He wouldn’t fight for it.

Koska Reeves didn’t seem to think the same. Bo-Katan stumbled and ended up on the floor, and Din, almost comically slow, brought the Darksaber down. You knew Bo-Katan would move out of the way—

The Force pulsed through you and without thinking, you leapt over the control board you were leaning on and, drawing your lightsaber from under your cloak, ignited it in midair.  
You landed in a crouch behind Din and only after a blaster shot ricocheted off your lightsaber and exploded harmlessly on the thick glass of the ship did you realize what had just happened.

Koska was glaring at you, blaster still raised, and the other two Mandalorians were staring at you. You swallowed hard—you had just saved Din’s life from an unfair shot from Koska, who thought Bo-Katan’s life was in real danger. Koska had aimed for his unarmored neck—the shot would have torn through his shirt and cape and then his neck.

You had saved him. And you had revealed yourself as, in their eyes, a Jedi.

“Dank farrik,” muttered Din, shocked.

“What was that?” I asked Koska, advancing on her, lightsaber held out by my side. “He wouldn’t have killed her, you know!”

Koska stared at the purple blade humming in your hand as you approached. She turned her blaster on you and fired, but you instinctively moved your saber to block it. Her eyes were wide, and you stopped a few feet from her. She scrambled back to the wall, but you sheathed the saber and clipped it back on your belt.

“Relax,” you said. “I wasn’t going to hurt you. Unlike you, I don’t hurt people who have their backs turned, nor do I kill people far below my skill level.” 

Koska narrowed her eyes at the implied insult, but didn’t say anything about it.

The rush of adrenaline was fading, the Force had subsided. You could sense that there was no longer any threat from Koska.

You realized that Din and Bo-Katan had paused their fight and were looking at you. It was unnerving, with the expressionless helmets both turned on you, but judging from Bo-Katan’s body language, she was quite surprised, as she should be. It wasn’t every day you saw a Mandalorian traveling with one who appeared to be a Jedi.

“Well,” you said, “don’t just stand there. Don’t you have a Darksaber to win?”

Bo-Katan readjusted her helmet and said to Din, “Don’t go easy on me. I can tell that’s what you’re doing.”

Din tilted his head, and you glanced at Koska just to make sure she wasn’t planning anything stupid. The scared look in her eyes confirmed it, so you leaned against the wall to watch the fight go down.

This time, Din made the first move, clipping the Darksaber to his belt and drawing his Beskar spear, hitting Bo-Katan with the flat end of it. She almost fell backwards, then caught herself, and drew her blaster. She fired at Din’s chestplate, and the force of the blast was strong enough to push him backwards. He held the spear in one hand as he slid across the floor, and as he came to a stop, he ignited the Darksaber in his other hand.

Bo-Katan somehow avoided the reach of both weapons and dodged under them, getting past Din’s defenses.

You heard Koska click her tongue as she stood from her position on the floor, and you looked sharply at her. She, despite her fear, said quietly, “I’ve never quite seen something like this.”

“Me neither,” you agreed, and just then, you heard a loud clang.

You turned back to the fight and saw Din’s spear rolling across the floor, clearly knocked out of his hand. He was on the ground as well, flat on his back, gasping for breath. Bo-Katan rolled and grabbed the spear, and when she brought it down lengthwise, Din barely raised the Darksaber in time to block it from hitting his helmet.

The Beskar was heating up to a bright red color as the Darksaber pressed against it, and you and Koska leaned forward, anxious to see the outcome.

With a furious yell, Bo-Katan rolled to the side. The Darksaber slashed the air, Bo-Katan slid the Beskar spear under Din’s arms, and pressed it against his neck, effectively choking him on the ground.

“No!” you gasped, and Koska put a hand on your arm.

“Don’t make the same mistake I did,” she warned, and you turned to her.

“Will she hurt him?” you asked, looking back to the fight, eyes riveted on your struggling Mandalorian.

Koska paused, then said, “Not badly enough to last.”

You clutched the hilt of your lightsaber hard enough to turn your knuckles white.

Finally, Din choked out, “I yield.”

Bo-Katan immediately let up on him, and held out a hand to help him up. He accepted, and they stood together. Bo-Katan removed her helmet and wiped her forehead. She and Din nodded to each other as they exchanged the Darksaber and the Beskar spear. It was anticlimactic, but you swore you saw some of the tension in Din’s stance release. He was no longer king of Mandalore. He was free.

You and Koska ran to your respective partners, and you practically tackled Din with a hug. You heard Koska congratulating Bo-Katan, but you were just glad your Mandalorian was safe.

“You didn’t think I was in real danger, did you?” he asked, and held you at arm’s length, apparently checking to make sure you were okay.

You nodded. “That was pretty intense, Din.”

He tilted his head and assured you in a low voice, “I’m okay, I promise.”

Bo-Katan and Koska approached you, and Bo-Katan, Darksaber in hand, asked, “Now that you are no longer bound to Mandalore, where will you head next?”

Din was silent, and you paused as well. The two of you hadn’t talked about it yet. Originally, you were planning on being dropped off at some random planet in the farthest reaches of the galaxy, but now you and Din were… together, you supposed. You hadn’t ever said it out loud, but that was surely what was happening between the two of you.  
Bo-Katan, you realized, was still staring at the two of you, and you quickly said, “We’re still deciding.”

Din nodded, and Bo-Katan said, “Good luck, wherever you decide to go.”

You nodded to her and Koska, and you and Din walked out of the bridge, away from the new Mand’alor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can hopefully tell, these chapters are quite a bit longer than "The Stowaway" chapters... more than twice as long, in fact. :)  
> Also, this is where the story being canon compliant becomes *quite* stretched. I've never seen the Clone Wars, Rebels, etc, so my only knowledge of the events of those shows comes from my brief internet searches for specific bits of info, so it's likely that some things from those particular canons will be contradicted.  
> (And nobody is telling me that Bo-Katan isn’t the biggest lesbian ever). (Also I know Din would have been a great Mand'alor but he just wants to live his little side character life let the man REST)
> 
> Din thinking about that time she got shot and the time Grogu used the Force to heal Karga, realizing that she might have been able to heal herself if she had been in touch with the Force *screams in Mando'a*


	2. The Passenger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) 
> 
> “This is where the fun begins.”

Halfway through the shuttle on your way back to the Razor Crest, you said, “Din, we should talk.”

Din paused, and his grip on your hand tightened. “I agree.”

The two of you ducked into a storage room and Din unstacked a couple of boxes for you to sit on. You were across from each other, which, in the small confines of the storage room, meant that your knees were touching. You tried to ignore the cold metal of his armor against your legs as you thought.

“You wanted to know about the Force, right?” you asked. “Before we confronted the Moff… and Bo-Katan… you were asking what it was.”

Din nodded, and you settled back, leaning on the wall. You sighed.

“It’s hard to describe,” you said, closing your eyes. You focused on the Force in and around you as you spoke. “It’s the energy in and between all things in the universe. It’s how I knew Koska was going to shoot at you. The Force can heighten a Jedi’s senses and reflexes, like when Luke Skywalker took down all those Dark Troopers.”

Din shifted—you heard and felt it—but you ignored it.

“My old master, well, both of them, actually, always spoke of the light and dark sides of the Force. They were so adamant in following the Jedi Order, and they stressed to me how easy it was to be seduced to the side of the Sith, who practice in the dark side of the Force.”

“Who were they?” asked Din.

“My mentors?” You took a deep breath and opened your eyes, staring at the vent cover above you. You wondered if you’d ever stared down into this particular storage room. You doubted it; there were quite a lot of them.

That was off-topic.

You were silent for a moment more, and Din waited patiently for you.

“I had two,” you said, “at least, two that I remember. From the time I was an infant to the age of four, I lived at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. I only remember a few bits and pieces of my time there, but I was told that there was, during the Clones Wars, a terrible order issued by the Emperor—Order 66, they called it.”

You felt Din shift again, and you resisted the urge to run from the room and all the feelings being brought up within you. You trusted Din; you wanted him to know about your life. He was the only living person who would know it when you were done.

But it was so hard to dredge up the awful memories that plagued you at night. You closed your eyes, face still tilted to the ceiling.

“Order 66 called for the murder of all Jedi, whether they be masters or Padawans. I was a youngling, and I happened to be in the infirmary the day the order was called to be put into action. Whoever was watching over me left me and never returned, and I managed to get out of my sickbed and go hide when I heard the commotion. I didn’t know that all of my classmates had already been killed.” Din didn’t move. All you could hear was your own loud breathing in your ears. It shouldn’t have been hard for you to talk about. It happened so long ago and you barely remembered it as it was. But it was painful nonetheless.

“I hid in the data room of the temple, where codes to Jedi across the galaxy could be sent out. There I was found by my first master, a Jedi named Obi-Wan Kenobi.” One of the few things you remembered from the Jedi temple was Obi-Wan finding you hiding behind the pillars in the data room. His surprised face, and him hiding you in a secure room while he dealt with what you would later discover was his epic battle with Darth Vader and the birth of the Skywalker twins.

“Anyway,” you sighed, “I trained with Master Obi-Wan for over a decade. But when I turned 17, he left our hidden sanctuary, saying he needed to leave for Tatooine, of all places.” The name of the desert planet was bitter in your mouth. It’s why you’d hated the thought of visiting there when you first boarded the Razor Crest.

You opened your eyes and sat up straight. Din was leaned forward. His arms were propped up his knees and his hands were clenched together under his chin. When you looked at him, however, a tear in the corner of your eye, he reached out his hands to you. You hesitated for only a moment before you took them, then looked down at your lap. The tear fell, and you gathered yourself before continuing.

“So Master Kenobi abandoned me, giving me only vague instructions to find another teacher. I was still a Padawan, even after all the years of training. So I made my way through the galaxy, hitching rides with smugglers and traders, using the few credits I had to my name until they ran out. I managed to make it to Dagobah, where I was told I find another Master to teach me.”

“I’ve never been to Dagobah,” Din said, and you shook her head with a grim laugh.

“You’d hate it. It’s dark, and damp, and hot, and it always smells weird.”

Din squeezed your hands and you let his presence calm you.

You continued, “But I stayed, learning from another, more powerful Jedi Master named Yoda. He and The Child, actually, look—looked—very similar.”

“Looked?” asked Din.

Your eyes flicked up to his helmet, but your reflection was miserably gazing back at you, so you stared back at your lap.

“Master Yoda is dead. So is Master Obi-Wan. I felt their deaths through the Force. I left Master Yoda a couple years before his death, when I finally got sick and tired of adhering to the code of the dying Jedi Order. I just wish I had thanked Master Yoda and Master Kenobi before they died.”

You scowled. “I met Luke Skywalker, you know.” Your anger returned upon speaking about him, and your voice shook with the emotion.

Din’s grip on your hands tightened. You knew he didn’t like Luke for taking The Child, and you shared the same feelings for the Jedi, albeit for different reasons.

“I ran from the Order because the rules were too harsh, and Master Obi-Wan and Master Yoda weren’t exactly my friends. They were great teachers, sure, but from the time I was 4 to the time I was 28, I had no friends save them, if I could even count them as such.”

Your anger broke into sadness, and you pulled your hands away from Din. You still weren’t used to the familiarity between the two of you, and as tears started to fall, you felt too vulnerable to be any sort of intimate with him.

Din said quietly, “You don’t have to tell me any more. Or you can tell me later.”

The concern in his voice overwhelmed you. He was so kind to you, even when you were crying across from him in a storage room about something that had happened 5 years ago.

You shook your head and Din stood. He opened the door of the room and held out his arm to you. You pinched the bridge of your nose before standing. You took his arm and through your tears, you hissed, “Kriff.” You hated being this emotional, at least this openly.

The words, ‘There is no emotion; there is peace,’ echoed in your mind. It was part of the old Jedi code, which both Masters Obi-Wan and Yoda had drilled into you during your extensive training.

Luke Skywalker, the arrogant prat, had only had a few months of formal training, and somehow was the most well-known Jedi Knight in the galaxy. You weren’t even sure he’d completed all five of the Jedi Trials required to become a Knight.

It wasn’t that you wanted to be well-known. It was just infuriating that Master Obi-Wan had abandoned you for him, and you were sure Luke had, however indirectly, been involved in both Master Yoda and Master Obi-Wan’s deaths.

Din led you through the halls of the shuttle and somehow you ended up back at the hangar. Your tears were clearing, although your vision was still clouded.

He escorted you aboard the Razor Crest and you dashed the last of your tears away. He let you go up and sit in the cockpit while he closed the hatch down below and put away his assorted weaponry.

You climbed the ladder up and sat in your chair, composing yourself. You wanted to get your emotions under control, but unlike in the past, you didn’t want to eradicate them completely. You wanted to understand them, but portion them into manageable chunks.

First, you figured, you’d settle your internal issues about Luke Skywalker, the kriffing hut-spawn—  
No, you told yourself. Think about him in a different light. He went through horrible things. You both had a hard past, and he was just unlucky enough to be the son of Darth Vader.

You also knew you had personal bias against him. When you had met him, you were still a practicing Jedi, although you had recently left the Order. Immediately, he had tried to convince you to rejoin the Order, and although you rejected the proposal, he had pursued in his questioning.

You had parted ways with him shortly thereafter and after another year and half of living on your own, you sheathed your lightsaber for good. Between the no-attachments-or-emotions-whatsoever rule of the Jedi and Luke trying to pressure you into going back, you were done with the Force. And being a Sith wasn’t on the table. You didn’t agree with the Jedi, but that didn’t mean you were on the side of the Sith.

As you thought, you closed your eyes and sought peace through the Force. To your complete surprise, you actually began to feel compassion for the Jedi who had bothered you for so long. Luke had been doing what was right by him, just as you were doing right by you.

When you heard Din enter the cockpit, you opened your eyes and smiled at him, peace filling you. He reached across the short distance between you and took your hand.

“Thank you for letting me see what makes you, you,” he said, and you stared at him adoringly. Kriff, how did you manage to find this man, let alone have him fall for you?

Even with your strange and painful past, you really were a very lucky person, you realized. You had finally found your home.

…

You were almost asleep in the co-pilot’s chair, the familiar noises of the Razor Crest making it easy for you to nap. That’s when you felt it.

The Force, stronger than you’d ever felt it before, surging through you.

You didn’t just sit up, you stood, eyes wide but staring at nothing.

You heard a voice in your mind, and the voice unmistakably belonged to Luke Skywalker.

“Kriff,” you gasped as Luke spoke in your mind, less words than feelings and thoughts.

You were still staring at nothingness, focused on the thoughts in your mind being projected by Luke across the galaxy, but you felt Din grab your wrist.

“Y/N?” he asked, confused and worried.

Luke’s voice faded away before you could respond to the Jedi, and you turned to Din, barely registering your reflection in his helmet.

“He wants to be with us,” you said, shocked and elated all at the same time.

“Who?” asked Din, his grip on your wrist tight with concern.

You focused on his visor and the corners of your mouth twitched up in a disbelieving smile.

“Grogu.”

…

Din was motionless.

“Where is he?” he finally breathed, and you leaned over him to type in the coordinates Skywalker had relayed to you.

You couldn’t help a wide smile from coming over your face thinking about The Child—Grogu. You finally knew his name, and not only that, but Luke said that he no longer wanted to train at the Jedi temple with Luke and the few other younglings and Padawans there.

Din laughed, disbelieving. You finished inputting the coordinates and sat back down in your chair.

Din put the ship on a course for the coordinates and then turned his chair to you. You took his hands and smiled widely at him. He was practically giddy, his body language conveying it easily to you, with him all leaned forward and ready to go.

He squeezed your hands and said, “Thank you.”

“For what?” you asked, laughter in your tone.

“For using your Jedi magic,” he said most sincerely, and you tried and failed to contain more laughter.

“Let’s just go get the kid,” you said, and Din nodded.

He stood and you did as well, then he pulled you close to him. Your cheeks immediately flushed when his arms wrapped all the way around you in a tight embrace. You leaned your head on his cold armor and hugged him back.

There in his arms, you were ready to face anything, even a Jedi.

…

You clipped on your lightsaber and blaster as the hatch of the Razor Crest opened, descending to reveal the forested surface of a planet you had, unfortunately, visited before. This had been the planet on which you and Luke had first met, and subsequently spent time together on for far too long, in your opinion.

Din grabbed your hand and squeezed it once, then released it and the two of you walked out of the ship. You declined to bring your shawl, as you knew the planet was rather warm. You wondered if Din ever got hot under his armor, although the armor itself was often quite cold to the touch.

A Jedi temple lay ahead, and although it was still 100 yards away, you could still see the small outline of Luke Skywalker in the entryway.

The sheer concentration of the Force emanating from the temple was overwhelming. You drew on it unconsciously, and everything around you came into sharper focus, although it was not your physical vision that was clearer, but your mind, or the sixth sense, some called it.

Whatever you called it, it was all the Force, of course, moving strongly though those Force-sensitive individuals throughout the galaxy. Not some made-up magic.

You and Din strode up to Luke, who stood serenely at the entrance of the temple.

He nodded to Din and looked at you with a smile in his eyes.

“Y/N. It’s nice to see you again.”

You nodded, and replied, “It’s been quite some time.”

Based on the way his eyes crinkled, clearly amused, you were sure he had sensed you when he had arrived on the Moff’s ship to take Grogu in the first place, but had not said anything, letting you go unnoticed.

Luke stepped aside and gestured for the two of you to enter the temple. You furrowed your brow.

“Non-Jedi aren’t allowed in temples,” you said, and Luke tilted his head.

“True,” he said, “but I’m giving him special clearance.”

Din was clearly uncomfortable with the power shift away from himself and you, and with Luke talking about him like he wasn’t there, so he moved into the temple, past Luke.

It occured to you that Luke clearly still considered you a Jedi, even though you had left the Order years ago. You bristled at the thought, but forced yourself to smile politely at Luke as you entered the temple. You were just here to get the kid—Grogu, you reminded yourself.

You caught up to Din as he moved uncertainly through the halls. Luke trailed behind, and you led the way to the training room in the center of the temple. You knew where you were going—not only was the Force guiding you, you had been here when this temple was built. You knew the halls like the back of your hand, even after being gone for a few years.

You paused just outside the door that led into the training room. You looked at Din, unsure if this was actually happening, and realizing that Din must be feeling even more overwhelmed and excited than you.  
You reached out with the Force. You could sense younglings and Padawans in the room. Luke opened the door, and indeed, there was a gaggle of young Jedi, talking and laughing. You looked for Grogu in the crowd, but couldn’t see him.

Luke walked in the room and the group of children quieted. Luke quietly dismissed them, and they all filed out of the room, with one small black-haired boy giving Luke a hug that was too sweet to be from anyone other than family. It must be Luke’s nephew, who had to be, what, five years old already? Luke had spoken of him sometimes when the two of you had been together on the planet.

The black-haired boy left, Luke moved aside, and there was Grogu, standing wide-eyed in the middle of the room.

You waited just inside the room, leaning on the door frame. Luke, you realized, had moved to stand next to you. He put a hand on your shoulder and said, “I’ll be back. I have to go deal with the other younglings.”

He left the room and closed the door behind him, so it was just you, Din, and Grogu. Din practically stumbled further into the room and Grogu ran to him, holding up his little arms, making a happy cooing noise. Din picked him up and held him close, and you felt yourself tearing up.

Din was shaking in a way that could only mean he was crying, and Grogu was making happy noises in a continuous stream of babbling. You couldn’t understand his noises, but they sure were joyful. Even without feeling through the Force, you knew Grogu was grateful to be with Din again.

Grogu looked up at Din and gently put a hand on his helmet. Without hesitation, Din reached up.  
You quickly averted your eyes and you heard the helmet hiss as Din took it off. The lump in your throat was making it hard to swallow. Din really loved Grogu. It was amazing how close their bond was.

“Y/N,” you realized Din was saying. His voice was so clear without the helmet.

You kept your eyes focused on your boots and you swallowed hard. “Yes?” you managed to say in a semi-normal voice. However, there was no denying that you were choked up at the sweet reunion. You and Din both had emotion choking up your voices.

“It’s okay, Y/N,” Din said, voice shaking. “I—I want you to see.”

Kriff. Your eyes went wide and you kept staring at the ground.

“Din,” you responded, “are you sure?”

Grogu made a little noise and Din’s boots came into view.

His gloved hand cupped your chin and gently, he tilted your head up. His hand was trembling; so were you.

And then you were looking at Din’s face, and his brown eyes were more gorgeous than you could have ever imagined. They were like dark pools, the fear in them evident, but his handsome brow was set, determined.

You couldn’t stop your eyes from roving his whole face over and over. His dark hair, messy from his helmet, fell onto his forehead. He had patchy but handsome facial hair; his nose was bold and beautiful.

Shakily, you raised a hand and cupped his face. Grogu made a little noise but you barely registered it. Din unconsciously flinched when your hand touched his face, and you froze, afraid that you’d crossed a line.

But then he smiled at you, and you couldn’t help a trembling laugh from escaping you. Both of you had tears in your eyes as you ran a hand down his jaw.

Grogu made a louder noise, and you both looked down at him. He looked up at you—you, who he didn’t even know—with those big black eyes and the Force pulsed between you.

The way Grogu spoke to you was not, you then discovered, through words, like most other Jedi, but through memories and feelings. Unbidden into your mind entered a memory from Grogu’s point of view of Din saying his name and laughing when Grogu made a noise at him, another memory of Din protecting him when they first met, and the memory of Grogu being in the Moff’s shuttle, looking up at the vents above him in his cell.

The feeling that accompanied that memory was familiarity and forgiveness.

You realized, as a tear slipped down your cheek, that Grogu had sensed you in the vents above him, watching, unable to connect to him because you had so thoroughly blocked yourself from the Force. Not only that, but he forgave you for not being able to help.

In your mind, you sent back, ‘I’m so sorry,’ but Grogu just reached out a hand to you.

You looked at Din, confused, and you locked eyes with him for the first time. You forgot how to breathe, caught in his gaze, until Din looked away and said, “He likes you.”

Grogu made a little noise and stared up at Din, who smiled at him.

Both you and Grogu looked up as you sensed Luke approaching the room.

“Luke’s coming back,” you warned Din, and as his face disappeared underneath his helmet, he gave you one last smile.

You couldn’t help a massive smile from spreading across your face, even when Luke opened the door and entered the room.

“Are you sure you want to go?” he asked Grogu.

Grogu’s thoughts in the Force, although directed at Luke, were plain to me. Din was his father, and being with him was more important to Grogu than any teaching he could have as a Jedi.

Luke nodded once, then looked over at you.

“Any chance you would stay and help me train these young ones? They can be a handful,” he said.

You shook your head. That would have normally angered you, to have Luke ask you that, but the Force was with you, and you were at peace.

Luke escorted the three of you out, and when you boarded the Razor Crest behind Din and Grogu, you turned around one last time and raised a hand in parting.

‘May the Force be with you,’ Luke said through the Force.

‘And with you, always,’ you responded, and the hatch closed, cutting off your view of the Jedi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, she and Luke didn’t have a thing. Luke is the ultimate space twink (compliment)
> 
> And referring to “The Gunslinger Part One” in "The Stowaway," about how Y/N said she had heard some stories involving lava, yes, Obi-Wan told her of his epic battle with Mr. Skywalker Sr.
> 
> BONUS: My favorite exchange that didn’t make the cut:  
> “Hey Din, Luke’s kinda cute.”  
> “I’m devoted to you, Y/N.”  
> “Ahhh don’t lie, my love. Luke caught your eye.”  
> “You can’t see my eyes.”  
> “Mhm, but I can imagine them.”


End file.
